1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to harvesting machines that have a draper belt for conveying crop material, and in particular to a connector assembly for coupling the ends of the draper belt together.
2. Description of Related Art
Draper platforms for harvesting equipment have one or more flat, wide belts, preferred to as a draper or draper belt, to convey crop material. The arrangement and the number of belts vary among platforms. One style of platform has two side belts that convey crop material laterally to the center of the platform where a feed belt moves the crop material longitudinally into the harvesting machine. The draper belts have two ends that are joined together to form a continuous belt. At each end of the belt, an upstanding flange is provided. These belt end flanges are joined together by a connector assembly to form a continuous belt. The connector assembly serves as a transverse cleat which, together with other cleats formed along the belt length, functions to convey crop material in the direction of belt travel.
A typical belt end connector assembly includes a pair of hollow square tubes placed on each side of the upstanding belt end flanges. The tubes have a plurality of apertures that align with mating apertures in the upstanding belt end flanges. Bolts are inserted through the connecting bars and the belt end flanges. A nut and one or more lock washers are placed on each bolt to hold the connecting bars in place. When removing a belt for service of the platform or replacing a worn belt, a large number of nuts and bolts must be removed. Two wrenches are required to remove or install each bolt, one for the nut and the other for the bolt head. This results in a time consuming process to remove and reconnect a draper belt.